Archive

Bianca Buitendag (George, ZAF) throws a sheet of spray on her way to posting the highest single ride score (9.80 out of 10) on the opening day of the Target Maui Pro in Hawaii on Tuesday Image: ASP / Kirstin

South African surfers posted dazzling performances on opposite sides of International Date Line in the past 24 hours with Bianca Buitendag recording the highest score for a single ride on the opening day of the Target Maui Pro in Hawaii while Dylan Lightfoot progressed to Round 4 of the Hainan Classic in China.

After three successive lay-days waiting for waves at the fabled Honolua Bay for the season-ending event on the 2014 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT), Buitendag took to the surf in Heat 6 of Round 1. Starting slowly, the 21 year-old from George in the Southern Cape rapidly built momentum in the excellent 1 to 1.5 metre surf and belted a near-perfect 9.80 out of 10 points for a series of vertical backhand blasts on her final ride.

“I’ve been here for the last 10 days and every time the swell gets bigger than 3 feet there’s so many people out here, so to share that with just two other girls is very enjoyable,” Buitendag said. “This is just the start of a long race. We have two more rounds before the Quarterfinals start so it’s important to get a good start.”

Buitendag, No. 7 on the ASP Women’s WCT rankings coming into the event, won her heat and advanced directly to Round 3 of the event along with Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright, the three Australians who are in contention for the 2014 ASP Women’s World Title.

The Target Maui Pro runs until December 6 and can be followed live via www.aspworldtour.com starting at approximately 7.30 (SA Time) on each day of action.

Meanwhile at the same time that Buitendag was shredding the legendary waves of Honolua Bay on Monday afternoon, on the other side of the dateline Lightfoot was demonstrating his ability in tiny waves at Riyue Bay on Hainan Island in China on Tuesday afternoon.

Seeded into Round 2 of the 4 Star rated ASP Qualification Series event, the Jeffreys Bay resident squeaked through his first heat, narrowly avoiding the ignominy of being eliminated by 15 year-old Leilani McGonagle (CRI), the only girl in event. Awarded 4.53 points for his last scoring ride, Lightfoot clinched second place just three-hundredths of a point ahead of McGonagle.

Lightfoot made better use of the miniscule knee to waist high waves on offer in Round 3, employing both his backhand and forehand attack to secure a solid heat win and moving to within one heat of a Quarterfinal berth.

“That was hard work out there,” Lightfoot said. “That’s what it takes to be a professional surfer, you sometimes get to surf perfect waves, but you also have to be on point in small surf. I’m happy that I’m still in the event and I’m hoping we get some fun surf later in the week.”

Lightfoot is the last remaining South African in the event and will take on Miguel Tudela (PER) and Australians Harrison Mann and Kai Hing in the next heat when competition resumes. The top two finishers there will advance to the Quarterfinals, where the event format changes from four man heats to man-on-man competition until a winner is crowned..

SA’s Michael February (Kommetjie) was eliminated in Round 3, placing third in the heat before Lightfoot’s, and finished equal 17th overall with earnings of US $1 250 (approx. R13 750) and 237 rankings points. Both David Brand (Kommetjie) and Casey Grant (Scottburgh) were ousted in Round 2.

The Hainan Classic runs until 28 November and can be followed live at http://hainaninternationalsurfingfestival.com/hainan-classic/live/ starting at approximately 2am (SA Time) daily.

Back in Hawaii, Tuesday also saw the Vans World Cup of Surfing – stage two of the Vans Triple Crown series and the penultimate Prime rated event for 2014 – commence at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu in stormy 10 to 15 foot (3 to 5 metre) surf.

The 16 heats in Round 1 were completed with Hawaiians dominating the results in the difficult conditions. Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) will be the first South African to compete in the event when he faces defending champion Ezekiel Lau (HAW), Stu Kennedy (AUS) and Chris Ward (USA) in Heat 4 of Round 2.

De Vries famously scored a perfect 10 point ride in the corresponding event at Sunset Beach last year after pulling into and exiting cleanly from what many knowledgeable commentators are calling the biggest tube ride seen in a contest at the venue in nearly 50 years (since the late 1960’s!).

ASP World No. 7 Jordy Smith and fellow ASP WCT campaigner Travis Logie are scheduled to start their campaigns in Round 3. Logie will be competing in the event for the last time after announcing his retirement from professional surfing following next month’s Billabong Pipeline Masters. Logie was crowned the ISA World Champion in 2002 and has spent the last 10 years competing at the highest levels of the sport.

The Vans World Cup of Surfing has a waiting period that runs until 6 December and can followed live at www.aspworldtour.com starting at approximately 7.30pm (SA Time) on each day of action.

Bianca Buitendag (George, South Africa) performs a trademark vertical backhand turn on her way to third place in the ASP 6-Star rated Hunter Ports Women’s Classic in Australia Credit: ASP / Hayden-Smith

South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag employed her trademark vertical backhand manoeuvres to clinch third place in the Hunter Ports Women’s Classic, a 6-Star rated ASP Qualifying Series (QS) event in Newcastle, Australia today (Sunday).

Buitendag was in sparkling form, winning three of the four heats she contested on her way to the semi-finals before bowing out to Alessa Quizon (HAW) by 11.83 vs. 14.50. The 20 year-old from George collected US $1 900 (about 21 000) and 2 080 points which moved her up to No. 7 on the ASP Women’s QS rankings after three events.

The confidence boosting performance was ideal preparation for Buitendag’s campaign on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s WCT which gets underway at the Roxy Pro Gold Coast in Queensland on 1 March. In 2013 she finished her inaugural year at the highest level ranked No. 8 and was crowned the Rookie of the Year.

The Burton Toyota Pro, a 6-Star ASP QS men’s event, which ran in conjunction with the women’s event as part of the 2014 Surfest Newcastle Australia, was won by Matt Banting who beat fellow Australian Nathan Hedge in the final earlier today.

Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) slots into a giant tube at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, that earned him a perfect 10 point score in the Vans World Cup of Surfing yesterday Credit: ASP / Cestari

South Africa’s Beyrick de Vries, who yesterday stunned the surfing world when he posted a perfect 10 point ride on what has been described as the ‘biggest and best biggest barrel in the storied 50 year history of surfing competition at Sunset Beach’ in Hawaii, followed that up earlier today by winning his Round of 64 heat in the Vans World Cup of Surfing and moving into the last 32 in the final ASP Prime rated event of the 2013 season.

What makes these feats truly remarkable is that De Vries, who turns 21 in a fortnight, is competing in his first event at Sunset Beach, notorious for its huge ‘playing field’ which makes wave selection difficult even for those that live there and ride the spot every time it breaks.

Competing in waves that reached 20 foot (six metres) on the face, de Vries showed supreme skills in manoeuvring his way into, and out of, a massive tube yesterday. Today, in just his third heat at the break, he caught and rode the best waves in his 30 minute encounter to defeat local standout Olamana Eleogram (HAW) as the pair eliminated 2000 ASP World Champion and former Sunset Beach winner CJ Hobgood (USA) along with current No. 18 on the World Rankings, Jadsen Andre (BRA).

“It’s pretty much a 55 hour travel here on a plane and costs you pretty much half your budget,” said De Vries after his 10 point ride yesterday. “Living here is expensive and you kind of doubt it all, but then you get one wave like that and everything’s worth it. It’s all worth it, I’m stoked.”

Interviewed after today’s heat victory the Umhlanga resident humbly professed that he didn’t know how he was doing so well and that he was just having fun before going on to say that he was proud to be representing South Africa and thanking his board caddy Jake Patterson (AUS), all his friends back in SA and the water-patrol who were a great confidence booster, particularly in the giant surf yesterday.

When competition resumes De Vries will be up against CJ Hobgood’s twin brother (USA), New Zealand’s Ricardo Christie and current ASP WCT No. 5 Taj Burrow (AUS) with the top two progressing to the last 16, which would match the Umhlanga resident’s best result in a Prime rated event.

Coming into this event ranked No. 50 on the ASP World Tour rankings, De Vries needs to progress through three more heats to reach the final here to give himself a chance of qualifying for the 2014 ASP World Championship Tour which features the world’s top 34 ranked surfers.

See video footage of De Vries’ historic 10 point ride and post heat interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tNTmvsxuPT8

Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), who was one of the top performers during last week’s Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa where he finished equal 17th overall, was eliminated in the Round of 96 at Sunset yesterday. Current ASP WCT No. 23 Travis Logie (Durban), the only other South African in the event, was ousted when he placed fourth in his tightly contested, low scoring Round of 64 heat today.

The Vans World Cup of Surfing is likely to be completed later today in smaller one to 1.5 metre waves at Sunset Point. All the action can be followed live at http://www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com/vansworldcupofsurfing2013/live starting at approximately 8.30pm South African time.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Stop No. 3 of 8 on the ASP Prime Series culminated with the most anticipated match-up of this year’s competition – event standouts, Smith and Wilson, living up to expectation with inspired performances in front of a capacity crowd.

“I’m really happy to get the win!” Wilson said of his 18.93 to 16.70 victory over Smith. “It’s my third time in Durban and I’ve gotten a good result each time. I really enjoy spending time here, it’s a great place with friendly people where I feel warm and comfortable. It definitely helps with my results.”

While Smith assumed an early lead to put Wilson in a combination situation (needing a combination of two scores) with his 7.67 and 8.83 (out of ten) scores, it was Wilson’s high-risk approach that was rewarded.

Knowing he needed something extra-ordinary to take the win, Wilson put everything on the line, completing an extremely critical Alley Oop aerial maneuver to score the first perfect 10 of this year’s competition.

Following up with a 8.93 slob grab reverse aerial maneuver, Wilson cemented his win over the local favourite and was chaired up the beach as the deserved 2013 Mr Price Pro Ballito Champion.

“Jordy put the pressure on me at the start but there were plenty of opportunities and I just had to flip the heat and put some scores on the board,” Wilson said. “That was the first time I’ve landed that air in a contest and I had to do something because I had my back against the wall. I’m stoked I could pull it off and come away with the win.”

Wilson is the second Australian to win the event since Chris Davidson (AUS) in 2008 and has pocketed R407 500 (US$40 000), rocketing to World No. 1 on the ASP World Rankings.

Smith had a dream run through to the final with flawless performances and perfect scores as he defeated Aritz Aranburu (EUK) in the Quarterfinals and Stu Kennedy (AUS) in the semi finals.

Unfortunately for Smith it was not the dream finish he’d hoped for, nonetheless pocketing R207 500 (US$20 000) and assuming the World No. 2 position.

“It was an honour to surf in the final against Julian, I’m just sorry I didn’t win it,” Smith said. “Julian stuck that air and it was amazing. I went on a trip to Reunion with him and he tried it a million times and didn’t make it and then he goes into the final and sticks it first time!”

The Australian contingent proved the most dominant on the final day of competition, with Stu Kennedy and Mitch Crews reaching the semi finals and placing equal third respectively.

Crews brought his big match temperament to an all-important semi final clash against Wilson. Producing a full repertoire of maneuvers, Crews was unfortunate not to find the near perfect score needed to beat the polished and more experienced Wilson.

Crews advanced from World No. 39 to World No. 27.

“I’m really happy to get all the way to the Semis and to surf against Julian,” Crews said. “Jordy and Julian have been standouts all event and there’s not much you can do when they’ve got you. This is a big result for me and I hope to continue my run and get a bunch more results to make the tour next year.”

Kennedy suffered a case of nerves against Smith in their semifinal match up. Feeling the pressure against the local favourite, Kennedy went for big turns but was uncharacteristically not able to stick them. The Australian was defeated in a combination situation.

Kennedy rockets from World No. 53 to 31 and will be looking to climb the ladder in the hope of qualifying for the WCT in 2014.

The Mr Price Pro Ballito enjoyed six days of action packed world-class surfing as Willard’s Beach delivered great waves and capacity crowds.

The action continues tonight with the Free Music Concerts on the Beach at Salt Rock and more exciting Festival activities at the Mr Price Pro Ballito Beach Festival tomorrow.

Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga), 20, in action at the Los Cabos Open of Surfing where he placed second and catapulted up to No. 41 on the ASP World Rankings Photo: ASP / Shadley

South African Beyrick de Vries posted the best result of his professional surfing career when he finished second in the US $155 000, 6-Star Los Cabos Open of Surf in Mexico on Saturday.

The 20 year-old from Umhlanga, who has just returned to competition after a knee injury and was seeded 39th in the event, overcame a number of the top ranked surfers on his way to the final where he finished runner-up to Dillon Perillo (USA) in the clean one metre surf at the Zippers surf break.

“I came into this contest and was happy to make it from my Round of 96 to 48 because I’m just trying to make it to the midyear cut-off so I can be in the Primes for the second half of the year,” De Vries said.

“I’ve just come off of a knee injury and this is the first event where I’ve been able to put an air in to my repertoire. I’ve been surfing safe at a lot of contests and doing them just to keep a seed. To be able to surf out there and get second, I’m just overwhelmed, I’m so happy.”

De Vries earned $12 500 (approx. R125 000) and 2 640 points which rocketed him 81 places up the ASP World Rankings to No. 41, ensuring his qualification for the seven remaining ASP Prime rated events in 2013 which are vital for any surfer with aspirations of qualifying for one of the 10 spots available on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) each year.

The confidence-boosting result will see de Vries taking plenty of momentum into his next major event, the $250 000 Prime rated Mr Price Pro Ballito, which will be the only ASP rated event to be held in South Africa this year and runs from July 1-7 at Willards Beach, within a couple of kilometres of de Vries’ home in Umhlanga.

Other South Africans in action in Mexico included Dale Staples (St Francis Bay) and Mikey February (Kommetjie), who finished equal 37th when they placed fourth in their respective Round of 48 heats. Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) placed equal 49th and David van Zyl (Glenashley) was equal 97th overall.

More on the Los Cabos Open of Surfing can be found at http://loscabosopenofsurf.com/

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

In waves that ranged from near perfect two metres to unruly three metres plus during the 96-man Prime rated US $250 000 (approx. 2.3 million) event, Staples advanced to the last 16 before being ousted by Aritz Aranburu (EUK). The 22 year-old earned $4 300 and 2 400 points that saw him vault 28 places up the 2013 ASP World Rankings to No. 40.

Recently crowned ISA World Champion Shaun Joubert (formerly Mossel Bay but now also residing in California) advanced to the Round of 48, defeating eventual winner Mitch Coleborn in the process, but finished equal 25th overall. Joubert pocketed $1900 and 700 points, moving up 21 places to No. 85 in the latest rankings.

Durbanite Travis Logie, now living in Hollywood, California, and Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) were first round casualties at Saquarema.

Coleborn, 26, clinched his career first ASP victory by defeating Marc Lacomare (FRA), 22, by a score of 17.60 to 15.67 in the final on Sunday, earning $40,000 in prize money and 6,500 points that catapulted him up to No. 14 on the ASP World Ranking.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult heat, but I just tried to stick to my strategy and find the best waves,” said Coleborn. “It was crazy because Marc (Lacomare) got a 10 (point ride) right at the end and I couldn’t believe it! I got really nervous, but he still needed to get another good score and no other waves came through. I’m just so happy that everything worked out. It was an amazing week here, the waves were great and I’m stoked with the win.”

Highlights from the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime can be found at http://www.quiksilver.com.br/primesaquarema13/

The next stop on the ASP Prime Series is the Mr Price Pro Ballito in Ballito from July 1-7.

The next stop on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) will be the Volcom Fiji Pro from June 2-14.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Bianca Buitendag, 19, (George) breaks her fins free as she carves off the top of a wave on her way to the quarter-finals of the Hunter Ports Women’s Classic at Mereweather Beach in Newcastle, Australia Photo: ASP / Will H-S

Bianca Buitendag, 19, (George) cruised into the last eight in the ASP 6-Star rated Hunter Ports Women’s Classic held in crumbling one metre waves at Mereweather Beach in Newcastle, Australia earlier today

Buitendag posted a comfortable victory in her Round of 24 heat before finishing second behind Alessa Quizon (HAW) and eliminated ASP World Junior Champion Nikki van Dyk (AUS) in the Round of 12 to set up a quarter-final encounter against Lakey Peterson (USA), who was the day’s standout performer.

The South African’s confidence-boosting performances at Newcastle are an excellent warm-up for her debut on the ASP Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT) which gets underway on the Gold Coast on 2 March. There she will be up against the world’s top 17 ranked women in the race for the 2013 world title.

Stephanie Gilmour (AUS), the five-time and reigning ASP Women’s World Champion, was a surprise elimination today when she placed fourth in her Round 24 clash.

South Africans Sarah Baum (25th) and Rosanne Hodge (37th) were ousted in yesterday’s action while Faye Zoetmulder (49th) was sidelined on the opening day of competition.

Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay), Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) and David van Zyl (Glenashley) have been eliminated from the ASP 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro which is running in conjunction with the Hunter Ports Women’s Classic as part of the Newcastle Surfest in Australia

Sawyer and de Vries finished equal 75th when they placed fourth in their respective Round of 96 heats earlier today, collecting 160 ratings points and US $500 (about R4 250) each. Van Zyl ended equal 97th when he came in 3rd in his Round of 144 heat on Monday.

Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) and Mikey February (Kommetjie), the two remaining Saffas in the event, will contest their Round of 96 heats when competition resumes.

Joel Parkinson (AUS) made a successful return to competition surfing after winning his maiden ASP World Title in Hawaii in December when he charged to victory in his Round of 96 heat. Only nine heats of men’s surfing were completed today with 2012 event runner-up Filipe Toledo (BRA) one of the standouts with his high-flying aerial repertoire.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Sarah Baum started her 2013 pro surfing season with a meritorious fifth place finish after reaching the quarter-finals of the ASP Star rated Breaka Burleigh Pro Women’s held in excellent 1.0 to 1.5 metre waves at Burleigh Heads in Australia earlier today (Saturday).

The inform 19 year-old from Athlone Park, Durban, who ended 2012 ranked No. 17 on the ASP Women’s Star Series, progressed through three rounds of four and three-person heats before elimination by current ASP No. 6 Malia Manuel (HAW) in a one-on-one encounter in the quarters.

Baum collected US $1 100 (approx. R10 000) and a valuable 1 560 points from the event which was won by ASP No.2 and event top seed, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), who narrowly defeated Courtney Conlogue (USA), the ASP No. 5, in the final.

Bianca Buitendag (George), who starts her rookie year on the Women’s WCT on the Gold Coast in March, placed equal 19th and Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth) ended equal 55th in her first ASP event after a serious injury that sidelined her for the second half of last year.

The 4-Star ASP rated men’s Breaka Burleigh Pro has been reduced to the last eight with former two-time ASP World Champion, Gold Coast local and current ASP No. 3, Mick Fanning, a surprise elimination after being ousted by fellow Australian Mitch Crews and Marco Fernandez (BRA).

The men’s champion will be crowned on Sunday and all the action can be followed live at http://breakaburleighsurfpro.com.au starting around midnight (SA time) tonight.

David van Zyl (Glenashley) and Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay), the only two SA surfer’s in the men’s draw, finished 49th and 65th respectively.

Three South Africans will be in action with Benji Brand (Kommetjie) starting his campaign in the Round of 128, his brother Davey in the Round of 96 and ninth seeded Shaun Joubert, formerly from Mossel Bay but now living in California, starting in the Round of 64.

All the action in the Rip Curl Pro Puerto Rico can be followed live at www.live.ripcurl.com

For more information, including the full schedule of ASP events, surfer profiles, news and results, visit www.aspworltour.com

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Dale Staples (St Francis Bay) stands tall inside a gaping Pipeline barrel in Hawaii on his way to 9th place in the Volcom Pipe Pro on Saturday Photo: Bernie Baker

Dale Staples posted the best result by a South African in many years at the iconic surf break of Pipeline in Hawaii yesterday when he finished ninth in the ASP 5-Star rated Volcom Pipe Pro which was run in excellent tubing double overhead waves over the last three days.

Staples, 22, from St Francis Bay, the only Saffa in the event, recorded three outstanding heat victories against several of Pipeline’s best exponents to reach the quarter-finals of the US $130 000 (approx. R1.17 million) contest before being eliminated with earnings of R22 500 and 633 rankings points.

The event was won for the third successive time by ASP World No. 4 and Pipe local John John Florence whose mastery of the break was exceptional. Florence, 20, who lives right in front of Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, posted four rides of over 9 out of 10 in his Round 64 heat, totaling a near perfect heat tally 19.70 out of a possible 20 for his top two.

His total of 16.33 in the final was enough to give him victory over Chris Ward (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS) and fellow Hawaiian Olamana Eleogram along with the winner’s cheque for US $20 000 and 2 000 points.

All the action from the Volcom Pipe Pro can be viewed in the Heats on Demand section of http://www.volcompipepro.com

Baum, ranked No. 17 on the ASP Women’s Star rankings at the end of 2012, and Buitendag, who qualified for the 2013 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT) by finishing last year ranked No. 2, each placed second to their respective Round 2 heats to advance to the last 24 in the $40 000 event.

Hodge, a former ASP Women’s WCT campaigner, was the top South African performer on the day, winning her heat with a tally of 15.34 out of 20, the seventh highest heat total recorded, to advance to Round 3 along with second placed Sage Erikson (USA).

The organisers completed Rounds 1 & 2 of the women’s event and the first two heats of the 160-man men’s contest where SA’s Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) and David van Zyl (Glanashley) will join the action in Round 3 (round of 96).

All the action at the Breaka Burleigh Pro can be followed live at http://breakaburleighsurfpro.com.au starting around midnight (SA time) each day.

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Bianca Buitendag, 19, (George) shows the form that took her to victory in the CHIKO Pro Junior women’s event at Newcastle in Australia last year Photo: Red Monkey

South Africa’s hot young crop of aspiring professional surf stars are heading for all points of the compass as the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) season gets underway with Star rated events for men in Hawaii and China next week followed by further contests in Australia and Puerto Rico during February.

While the world’s top 34 ranked men and top 17 women only commence the race for the 2013 ASP World Titles on Australia’s Gold Coast early in March, the 11-day waiting period for the 5-Star rated Volcom Pipe Pro starts on Sunday 27 January at Pipeline in Hawaii.

Dale Staples from St Francis Bay, who finished 2012 at No.101 on the ASP Men’s World Rankings, is the sole South African in the 112-man field which is headed by defending event champion and current ASP No. 4, John John Florence (HAW).

Meanwhile four Saffas will participate in the second edition of the 4-Star rated Hainan Classic which runs at Riyuewan Bay on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan from 28-30 January. Kommetjie based brothers, Davey and Benji Brand, and Remi Peterson (Jeffreys Bay) will start in the Round of 96 in China with David van Zyl (Glenashley) seeded directly into the Round of 64.

After China, van Zyl travels to Australia for the 4-Star rated Breaka Burleigh Pro at the iconic Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast of Queensland. There he will be joined by Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) in the Round of 96 with Mikey February (Kommetjie) on the alternates list for the event, which runs from 3-10 February.

The women’s event at the Breaka Burleigh Pro is a one of just six 6-Star rated events on the ASP Women’s Star tour and has attracted a powerful field including four South Africans. The Saffa contingent is headed by Bianca Buitendag who won 6-Star events in Peru and the Azores last year, resulting in the 19 year-old from George qualifying as the only newcomer amongst the top 17 for the 2013 ASP Women’s World Tour.

Compatriots Sarah Baum (Athlone Park), who was in contention for a spot on the Women’s World Tour herself last year, and former top-tier campaigner Rosy Hodge (East London) will start alongside Buitendag in the Round of 48 in the US $40 000 event with Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth) opening her challenge one round earlier.

The Brand brothers and Peterson head for the Caribbean after China where they will be joined by California based former Mossel Bay standout Shaun Joubert in the 4-Star Rip Curl Pro Puerto Rico from 9-13 February.

Joubert, 21, ended 2012 ranked No. 95 and will benefit from being one of the top 10 seeds in Puerto Rico as he seeks to maintain a top 100 ranking that guarantees entry into the 6-Star and Prime events with their lucrative prize-money and higher rankings points.

After the Caribbean, Joubert heads for Australia where he and No. 94 ranked Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) along with February, van Zyl and Sawyer will contest the 6-Star, US $155 000 Burton Toyota Pro at Merewether beach in Newcastle from 18-24 February.

The Newcastle event sees the first competitive appearance of the year for newly crowned ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson.(AUS) and a dozen more of the world’s top 32 ranked surfers.

Sawyer and van Zyl will also compete against more than 100 international surfers aged 20-and-under in the 2-Star Burton Toyota Pro Junior.

The 6-Star Hunter Ports Women’s Classic, which runs in conjunction with the men’s event at Newcastle, presents a second opportunity for the South African quartet of Buitendag, Baum, Hodge and Zoetmulder to accumulate additional cash and rankings points.

While the quality of the women’s field has been strengthened by the entry of five-time ASP Women’s World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), who makes her first foray into competition for the year, Buitendag will be encouraged by her results in the beach break waves at Merewether last year where she placed 3rd in the women’s event and won the Pro Junior women’s crown.

The respective men’s and women’s ASP World Championship Tours (WCT) then take centre stage as the $450 000 Quiksilver Pro and the $120 000 Roxy Pro, both presented by Land Rover, run side-by-side from 2-13 March on Australia’s Gold Coast.

South Africa’s Jordy Smith, 24, is determined to improve on his No.12 ranking after an inconsistent 2012 season while Travis Logie, 33, will be looking to build on his career best No.21 ranking after having to re-qualify for the top tier via the Star events a couple of years back.

Bianca Buitendag faces a baptism of fire as the only rookie of the 2013 women’s WCT as she has never before competed at this level, However, a stellar qualifying campaign in 2012 saw her defeat a number of the established campaigners in her first full year on tour and end the year No. 2 in the women’s Star rankings.

Now a year older, wiser, stronger and more confident, Buitendag looks set to not only hold her own, but to upset her more experienced opponents in any conditions.

For more information, including the full schedule of ASP events, surfer profiles, news and results, visit www.aspworldtour.com

About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.